Bottle case or crate.



A. J. RIGE.& G. S. ADAMS.

BOTTLE CASE OR CRATE. APPLICATION FILED APRA, 1908.

Patented Sept. 7, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVE f NTORS MW fla ATTORNEY6.

' WITNESSES:

A. RICE & 0. s. ADAMS BOTTLE CASE OR CRATE. APPLICATION FILED APBH4, 1908. fififie Patentedfiept. 7, 1909;

2 BHEETS-SHBET 2.

' r INVENTO s; 4, (5W Q%#%% v ATTORNEYS;

To all whom'it may concern:

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT J. rucu AND CHARLES s. ADAMS, or BUFFALO; NEW YORK.

BOTTLE GASE OR. CRATE.

' Be it known that we, ALBERT J. Rronand "CHARLES S. ADAMS, citizens of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and-Stateof New York, have invented certain new, anduseful Improvements in Bottle Cases or Crates; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and

exact description of the invention, suchas will enable otliersskilled in the art to which;

' itappert'ains to make and use the same.

In Letters Patent No. 804,081 granted tous on November "7th, 1905, we haveillus. trated'a'nd described a bottle case or crate of the general class to which'the present invention isapplied. These cases or-crates are used in the handling of bottles, (for example, milk bottles) as receptacles for the bottles during'wa'shin'g, storing, filling and delivering. "It is desirable that such a case or crate should be' provided with means for holding the bottles in place when the crate isinverted in order that the crates maybe stored in an inverted position so that the bottles drain themselves and there is no possibility of dirt or'dust or foreign substances falling into the bottles,

1 of so retaining the bottles in the crate when the crate is inverted we have provided re- 'taining For the purpose guards of the type hereinafter 'de scribed.

In the drawings we have illustrated the improved retaining guards as applied to a crate of the particular type illustrated in the patent above: mentioned, though, as will readily be understood, the retaining guards may be applied to various types of "crates.

Furthermore, we have added to the "crate projecting feet at the upper corners,o such character that the feet on one box fit'within the corners of the boxy-next below it when the crates are inverted-and piled on top of oneanother; We have also added metal 1 strips at the edges of the end pieces of the 1 handling, v v

Beferringto thedrawings, in which thebox to strengthen them and prevent splitting, which is "likely to occur because of the 'fact that the cratesduring the-Washing of the bottles are subjected to the action of boiling- "water and steam, a'ndduring the storinf and delivery they are subjected to roug asms; of was Patent. Application filed s ns 1908. Serial m).- 425,143.

throughout, Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved crate; Fig.2is a longitudinal section onfthe line 2-2 of Fig; 1 Fig; 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig.1; Fi 4 is-a section of oneof the retainingguar s showing the depend ng f g Q P y section on the line 4 4: of Fig. 2, and Fig.

is a view similar to-Fig; 3 showing the retaining "guards in theiropen position;

The crate comprises an open'framemade up of'th'e end pieces Land the sidepiec'es b, and having an'open'work bottom made up Patented Sept 7, 1909.,

same reference characters indicate like parts ofrspaced-longitudinal rods 'The interior oft e case is divided into'se arate pockets 'for the reception of the indlvidua'l bottles.

by the longitudinally extending rods (1. and

dicated an the'drawings', the longitudinal rods (5d and cl pass through the partition 9 and are supported thereby intermediate their ends, the rods c lying immediately above the lower cross-rods f. i I

The construction thus far described is that of our prior patent above inent-ioned, and. is the construction which we prefer to-use,

thoughfas hasalready been pointed out, the utility of the attachments now to be 'de-, scribed isnot many-way, limited to that particular iorm' of crate, 'It will be observed that the crateillustrated is adapted to hold one dozen bottles WhiChjiS the size commonly employed, but obviously the crate may be made of any desired size.

r the purpose of retaining the bottles within the crate when the crate. isinvertcd, we rovide the retainingguards h and 71- extending, longitudinallyyo the crate and re cessed along their edges at proper intervals to enga e the upper portions of the bottles. these retaining guards is provided with a depending locking foot is having a grooved cam sur ce at its lower end as in-' dicated'more particularly in Fig. it. The -.-retaining guards are mounted on ournals in the-ends offthe crate that they may be swung intoand-en13 the retaining posivio tion in which theyover-lap the-bottles, and when they are so swung into the retaining position the grooved cam surface at the lower ends of the locking foot takes over the crossrod or upper bead of the cross partition as shown in Figs. 2 and3 of the drawings. The length of the foot A: is such that when the retaining guard is swung into the position indicated in these figures the guard is raised slightly at the center, thereby exerting a spring pressure through the foot is on the cross'rod or bead so that the parts are securely locked in position. Theseretaining guardsniay be so mounted in the crate that their fiat ends have a frictional engagement with the end pieces of the crate so that the friction will serve to hold the retaining guards in their releasing position with sufficient security but we have found that there is a tendency for the end-pieces of the crate to be worn by the repeated movement of the retaining guards, and thereby the engagement is reduced tosuch an extent that the retaining guards will be loose, and we, therefore, find it desirable in some cases to supply a definite means for 'retaining'the guards in their releasing position. To this end, we

have adopted the means indicated on the drawings, which comprise plates .extending along one end piece of the crate and provided with slots m through which the axles of the retaining guards pass, so that the plates Z aresupported by these axles. The

. plates Z have at each end an upwardly extending arm 1:. turned over at the top and provided with curved under surfaces as indicated in F1gs 3 and 5. When the retaining guards are turned into their release position as indicated in Fig. 5, the end pieces of the retaining guards engage-these curved surfaces and lift the plate Z until the end pieces of the guards engage the central grooves of the arms 12 thereby retaining the guards in their releasing position. v

Extending along the side pieces of the crate, and in the position indicated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, are provided longitudinal rounded stripsr which cooperate with the retaining guards to hold in place the bottles in the side pockets when the crate is inverted, as will be understood from the illustration in Fig. 3. which shows a bottle in dotted lines. It

from the bottom to some extent.

will also be observed-@from this figureithat the retaining devices are so placed that when the crate is inverted the bottles fall away This is a convenient arrangement in that it avoids the necessity of'making 'a close fit of the engaging edges of the retaining guards'against the sides of the bottle'so that the crate may hold bottles of varying" sizes andshapes.

In order that the crates may be readily stacked one upon another in their inverted position, we provide the feet 0 at the corners of the crate of such shape that the feet are adapted to fit into the corners of the crate iinn'iediatelybelow.

For t re purpose of strengthening the endpieces of the crate and preventing the splitiing thereof, we attach to the vertical edges thereof to which the side pieces are nailed, metal strips 3) as indicated in Fig. 1. Ob-

viously, if theconstruction is. changed so that the endpieces of the crate are nailed to the side pieces, the metal plate will be secured to the vertical edges of the side pieces.

What we claim is:- 1. A case for holding bottles comprising a series of cross-rods formin separate pockets for the reception of in ividual bottles,

and retaining guards'to prevent the bottles from falling out of the case when the case is inverted, said retaining guards consisting of plates overlapping the bottles when in looking position, and mounted to swing into a releasing position to permit insertion or removal of the bottles, said plates having depending locking feet engaging with a cross rod of the case; substantially as described.

2. A case for holding bottles comprising a series of cross-rods formin separate pock ets for the reception of in ividual bottles, and retaining guards to prevent the bottles from falling out of the case when the case is inverted, said retaining guards consisting of plates overlapping the bottles when in locking position, and mounted to swing into a releasing position to permit insertion or removal of the bottles, said plates having depending locking feet engaging with a cross rod of the case, and the sides of the case having longitudinal strips cooperating with the said plates; substantially as described.

3. In a case for holding bottles, a retaining guard consisting of a plate overlapping the bottles when in retainin position and mounted to swing into releasing position to permit insertion or removal of the bottles, a cross-piece in the case below the guard and a dependent foot-on the guard having locking engagement with the cross-piece; substantially as described.

4. In a case for holding bottles, a retain ing guard consisting of a plate overlappin the bottles when in retaining position an mounted to swing into releasing position to permit insertion or removal of the bottles, a cross-piece in the case below the guard and a dependent foot on the guard having a cam surface'forengaging the cross-piece to lift slightly the center of the guard, whereby locking engagement is attained; substantially as described. 4

5. In a case for holding bottles, a retaining guard consisting of a plateoverlapping the bottles when in retaining position and mounted to swing into releasing position to permit insertion or removal-oi the bottles, a cross-piece in the case below. the guard, a dependent foot on the guard having locking engagement withthe cross-piece, and means for locking the guard in its releasing position; substantially as described.

6. A bottle case or crate comprising an open frame made up of wooden end pieces 7 and side pieces fastened together by nails or screws, and having spaced rods supported in the'end-pi'eces and side pieces to form a bottom, and a metal strip p at each joint between the end of one frame-piece and the abutting face of the attached frame-piece and 15 through which the attaching nails or screws pass; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures, in presence of two Witnesses.

ALBERT J. RICE. CHARLES S. ADAMS.

Witnesses to signature of A. J. Rice:

WILLIAM H. DAVIS, LAURA B. PENFIELD.

-\Vitnesses to signature of C. S. Adams: GEO. D. SEARS, MYRON S. HALL. 

